Sri Lanka IMF board date after Paris Club-India, prior actions

The International Monetary Fund will present its staff report on Sri Lanka to the Executive Board an official said amidst strong expectations in the island about an early December date for the review of its program.

A date for the staff report to be presented to the Executive Board can be announced once Sri Lanka has implemented “all prior actions that have been agreed” and financing assurance reviews have been completed, Senior Mission Chief Peter Breuer said.

The review “includes confirming whether adequate progress has been made with debt restructuring to give confidence [to the IMF’s Board] that the restructuring will be concluded in a timely manner and in line with the program’s debt targets,” he said.

State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told reporters Tuesday that IMF may consider Sri Lanka’s review on December 06.

The IMF was awaiting a debt restructuring deal from the Paris Club and India, after China gave the first proposal to re-schedule debt.

On November 21, Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a budget, which analysts say was likely to have been a prior action.